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Sunday, June 20, 2010

Team Darnell at the Beach!

Today is Father's Day!! As we talked about the plan for the day, we were open to doing anything Daddy wanted to do. Daddy is usually content hanging out at home and Mommy is open for new adventures with the boys. Daddy did not have any ideas so Mommy mentioned, let's go to the beach. Imagine my surprise when he responded with "sure." I replied, "are you really sure?" He said, "yes." So, the beach planning began!

We had previously talked about going to be the beach with the boys. As the news reports of the great BP oil spill continue to monopolize our local broadcasts, we decided we needed to get to the beach before the closest Florida beaches were covered in oil. I asked around and found out there is a beach just 45 minutes from the house called Alligator Point. On Saturday, Daddy headed out to buy all the appropriate beach gear... buckets/shovels, umbrellas, chairs, etc. By Saturday night, we were all ready to go!This morning, we woke up, had a quick breakfast and were out the door by 9:01am. We planned to depart at 9am so pulling out of the driveway at 9:01am is not too bad. Alligator Point is primarily a private beach but has two small public access points. They were hard to find but on the second pass, we managed to find an entrance to the beach.

We arrived at the beach around 10am and got the boys dressed once we got there. Once everyone was dressed and solidly covered in lotion, we headed out to the beach. Here is Daddy leading the troops down to the beach. Each of the boys carried their own bucket. I did not carry anything because of Daddy's cleaver use of our Triple Decker stroller that he is pushing...While shopping on Saturday, Daddy looked for a cart to carry everything but was unable to find anything. Our Super Daddy put on his thinking cap, looked around the garage and realized the frame for the Triple Decker stroller was the perfect beach caddy. Using some rope, he also added a laundry basket to the front of the stroller to hold both of our coolers and some other items. The chairs and umbrellas folded up nicely for transport on the stroller. A couple bungee cords held everything on the stroller. She might not look classy but we were able to get everything to the beach in one trip....The second we arrived on the beach, Daddy spotted a fiddler crab. The boys were very excited about all the sea life we saw on the beach....

While Daddy was setting up camp, the boys and I headed down to the beach. The boys knew exactly what to do with all their new toys...

The beach is a very calm beach with relatively no waves. When it was recommended to us, this was the feature that we liked. I was told it was perfect for the '5 and under' crowd and it definitely was! The majority of the shoreline is 2 feet deep or less. Daddy went out 50 feet at one point and it was still shallow. With these calm conditions, we were actually able to relax and enjoy our time at the beach. Here is Wes wading in the water followed by Daddy...

Andrew was taking advantage of one of the chairs Daddy set up in the shade back at base camp...

While Daddy was in the water with the boys, I was in charge of building Sand Castles. The boys and I would work together to fill the bucket with sand and then create the castle. Within second of getting it up, it was obliterated by the boys. They found great joy in smashing the castle. Daddy was quick to get at least one shot of one of our structures...

Jared, Wes and Andrew at the beach! The boys have fair skin so we applied sun screen multiple times at the beach. Mommy and Daddy should have taken the same precautions. Both of us returned home with sun burned backs. However, the boys are perfect...

Wes is enjoying the water and dumping the water on his belly...

Andrew...

Jared splashing around...

The boys enjoyed wading around in the water and checking out the sea life. We saw hermit crabs, tiny fish and a starfish. The boys were all comfortable in the water. Here is Jared sitting in the waves. We need to bring our surfboards next time...

Daddy, Wes and Jared...

The tide was in when we arrived and we would walk through the seaweed to get into the water. By the time we left, the tide was out and the seaweed was behind us...

Daddy and his boys...

Wes dragging another bucket full of water. It is low tide at this point...

Andrew splashing Daddy...

Daddy showing Andrew to float on his back. The boys are very comfortable (almost too comfortable) in the water...

Andrew...Wes enjoys a Juicy Juice...

All the boys...

The boys are heading back to our base camp...

Wes shows Jared where to find the Juicy Juice...

Andrew digging for shells....

While at the beach, we played, had lunch and played some more!! We were there for about three hours and it was time to make the trek home. We packed up everything on the stroller and the boys packed up their toys and we were ready to go. Apparently, Andrew was ready go because he started high tailing it to the truck. I took this picture while yelling, "ANDREW.. WAIT!!!" ....He was almost to the truck before he stopped. Check out Mr. Innocent...

I guess we were all ready to leave. Here is Wes running to the truck...

Jared, Mr. Cautious, was making his way slowly to the truck, staying close to Daddy and using the hand rail. I love their individual personalities...

Ready to go...

Once we were in the truck and on the way home, we stopped to get everyone a drink for the ride. The boys also ate another sandwich in the car. I guess the boys were thirsty after their eventful morning....

We had a great morning beach! The beach was beautiful, calm, relaxing and a whole lot of fun. Daddy maybe hesitant to take on new adventure but we both admitted as we drove away, that was a lot of fun. As the boys say, "fun beach, fun beach."

Mama & Papa Darnell

April 12, 2008 - Happy Birthday Boys!!

Our Team Memorabilia...

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Team Darnell Recommends....

The boys love Ms. Br'Axeton, Ms. Krystin, Ms. Lisa-Marie, Ms. Mary and Ms. Ilona and we love the service we receive from Seminole Sitters! Click on the logo to find your own sitter... they LOVE multiples!